Telehealth Research, Reports and Surveys
Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies: National Consumer Survey Finds Americans Are More Likely To Turn to Scam Online Pharmacies if DEA Curbs Telehealth Rx (12/6) - The American for Safe Online Pharmacies released survey data which found that without comprehensive legislative and regulatory policy solutions, Americans will use be unaware of the prescription medicine sellers they encounter online. The survey found:
- More people buy medications online now than ever before, and that number is rising quickly. 85 percent of Americans who have used an online pharmacy currently use an online pharmacy to fill one or more medications.
- Demand for convenience and cost-savings is driving consumers to purchase medication online, with recent drug shortages and changes in access likely to fuel a continued rise.
- 60 percent of Americans who have used online pharmacies would be open to purchasing prescription medicines from an online source not approved by a U.S. regulator if it made ordering medicines more convenient.
MD Revolution: Implementing Remote Patient Monitoring and Chronic Care Management improves Patient Outcomes and Practice Revenues (12/5) - A study, commissioned by MD Revolution, found that physician practices and hospitals who have implemented remote patient monitoring (RPM) and chronic care management (CCM) programs are measurably improving patient outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction and simultaneously building practice value.
FAIR Health: Hypertension Became the Top-Ranked Asynchronous Telehealth Diagnosis Nationally (12/5) - According to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, hypertension ranked in first place among asynchronous telehealth diagnoses nationally. It had ranked in second place in the earlier months of the year. In September, hypertension increased in its share of asynchronous telehealth claim lines nationally and in every region. In September, diabetes mellitus entered the national top five rankings of asynchronous telehealth diagnoses (at number five) for the first time in 2023.
The New England Journal of Medicine: Wearable Digital Health Technology (11/30) - Researchers from MIT announced a series on the clinical applications of wearable digital health technologies, such as telehealth and RPM devices. The series aims to provide real-world examples of how wearable DHT is increasingly being applied in clinical situations today and how such uses are likely to expand or be constrained until they are fully implementable into health care systems and reimbursable by medical insurance plans.
Epic Research: Telehealth Utilization Higher Than Pre-Pandemic Levels, but Down from Pandemic Highs (11/21) - Though the overall share of telehealth visits has dropped, it accounts for 37 percent of mental health and 11 percent of infectious disease visits. The data from Epic Research aims to provide insights into telehealth use trends across specialties in 2023 compared to before and during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proportion of telehealth visits peaked across all specialties in Q2 2020, with the highest telehealth use rates seen in mental health (65.5 percent), endocrinology (55.5 percent), geriatrics (55.2 percent), transplant (52.2 percent), and gastroenterology (51.5 percent). For additional coverage, see mHealth Intelligence.
JAMA Network: Expiration of State Licensure Waivers and Out-of-State Telemedicine Relationships (11/15) - Following the expiration of waivers enabling out-of-state telehealth visits, patients tended to stop seeing the physician rather than switch to in-person care. The study shows that in states with expired waivers, patients with out-of-state telehealth relationships were less likely to participate in any post-period visits. Patients with out-of-state relationships were less likely to have telehealth or in-person visits after waiver expiration. This finding was most prominent when the patient and clinician were over 321.9 km apart. The results support the need to reform state licensure. Among the small number of telemedicine relationships in which out-of-state physicians held a license in states where patients resided, there was no decrease in continuity. For additional coverage, see mHealth Intelligence.
JAMA Network: Patient and Family Outcomes of Community Neurologist Palliative Education and Telehealth Support in Parkinson Disease (11/13) - A study found that offering telehealth services to patients with Parkinson’s disease can help increase awareness around their palliative care options and improve their quality of life. 95 percent of participants receiving telepalliative care services indicated that they received better care interventions compared to others. Researchers found that palliative care education for community neurologists and provision of team-based PC via telehealth is feasible and may improve quality of life and advance care planning. For additional coverage, see Hospice News.
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